Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Leaders Conference

Nine students from four departments — Agribusiness, Agricultural Education and Communication, Animal Science and BioResource and Agricultural Engineering — attended the Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Leaders Conference, held in Kansas City Nov. 6–9, where they participated in leadership workshops and networking opportunities with peers and industry professionals.

Second-year animal science major Ana Sierra was selected as a student advisor, one of only 12 students nationwide, to help shape AFA programs and support future conferences and leadership institutes.

Cal Conclave

Cal Poly students, alumni and volunteers hosted Cal Conclave in April, an intercollegiate logging competition that welcomed nine teams from three universities for a day of hands-on competition, technical skills demonstrations and collaboration.

Cal Poly Team A won first place, Cal Poly Team B earned third place and Cal Poly Team C took fifth place. In individual competitions, forest and fire sciences majors Joe Carniglia won second place and Daniel Auten won third place. Agricultural systems management major Nolan Hayes won fourth place.

Agribusiness Students Take First Place at National Grocers Association Case Competition

Six students from the Agribusiness Department competed at the 2026 National Grocers Association Case Study Competition, held in Las Vegas Feb. 1–3, where teams addressed real-world challenges facing independent grocery retailers.

First-place team members included: Reese Cummings (consumer trend analysis), Hannah Reimann (marketing strategy), Logan Williams (sourcing strategy), Tyler Kinoshita (financial feasibility), Emma McCarty (staffing solutions) and Jack Ratto (data and technology strategy).

Cal Poly Soil Judging Team

The Cal Poly Soil Judging Team, competing against top programs from across the region, earned first place in the group judging event and second place overall at the regional soil judging contest in Chico, demonstrating exceptional skill in soil profile analysis, land evaluation and collaborative problem-solving. 

Among the individual awards, biochemistry major Gavin Wong won first place and environmental management and protection major Mollie Bressler won fourth place.

Women's Polo

The Cal Poly women’s polo team was named the Western Collegiate Regional Champions, advancing the team to the national competition at Cornell University in April.

Third-year animal science major Julia Schaefer was named an All Star and selected for the horsemanship award at the 2026 Western Regional Tournament at UC Davis in March.

2026 Cal Poly Champions Tour

Four College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences students were among the 26 Cal Poly students recognized at the California State Capitol during the 2026 Cal Poly Champions Tour.

Student honorees included Brisa Bergfeld (Experience Industry Management, '26), whose team placed first in the undergraduate division of the World Cup Innovation Summit Hackathon; Marc Cabeliza (BioResource and Agricultural Engineering, '26), current ASI President representing more than 22,000 students; Milena Wilson (Animal Science, '26), whose Cal Poly Mule Packing Club team earned the World Champion Intercollegiate Packing title at Bishop Mule Days; and Sofia Patnode (Plant Sciences, '26), who earned first place overall and Designer of the Year at the American Institute of Floral Designers Student Design Competition.